To think a privatised health service would be an improvement?

[WhiteStars]

At the moment we all have to be grateful for the overstretched and often inefficient service we receive. I had a 9am appointment today with a nurse practitioner. At that time in the morning she was already running 25 mins late on her appointments- how?!

She also couldn't use her computer system so I had to then wait for a doctor to come and issue the standard repeat prescription (I couldn't get this over the phone as needed a blood pressure check). The doctor then issued the wrong medication and only corrected it when I noticed she had done the wrong thing on the screen.

All very minor but not a great service at all really. We all know how over stretched the service is and everyone says it's at breaking point. Why is everyone so against paying for health insurance and getting a better service or going private?

It's not uncommon to hear of people waiting weeks to get an appointment and not being able to book in advance. The government would save an inordinate amount of money that could be ploughed into schools whilst subsidising some health services but with people paying an annual health insurance fee. We already pay for prescriptions in England. I would rather have a better private service than the NHS as it is now- on it's last legs and not really fit for purpose any more. AIBU?

Oh and Jeremy Cunt, needs to cunt off.

It always seems to be e people that moan about the NHS are the people who have never 'really' needed it....... My siblings, DH, DM, and DGM would all have died either as a result of the C word or life-threatening cardiac events in recent years alone. I got married not long ago, and I often think what a very different 'bride's family' photo that would have been had it not been for the NHS.

The NHS and similar state-funded healthcare systems are the envy of the world. Yes, it has its challenges, but by God I wouldn't let it go. Being peed off because an appointment runs late seems to always be such a whining point for people...... FFS get a grip and get some perspective.

I had a 9am appointment today with a nurse practitioner. At that time in the morning she was already running 25 mins late on her appointments- how

Possibly because she arrived late. Possibly because appointments overran their time slot. It's interesting though. When I had an NHS dentist I never got seen on time. I now have a private dentist and they rarely run late and if they do it's only a few minutes.

But I think some delays are nothing to do with NHS or private. Years ago my son had an appointment at 9am with a consultant. We were there on time even though it was an hour's journey to get there. He rolled in at 9.30. I remember thinking if I ran that hospital I would not put up with that.

I think part charity part public funded could work better than we have now.

There's a lot of waste so a decent charity could manage it to run not for profit scrapping treatments that we shouldn't be paying for and offering them at cost rate or a little over that.

There definitely should be a charge for seeing a doctor and dentist, nominal but enough to stop people wasting appointments and scrap the service that lets people have free calpol etc and make people buy it.

There's lot that could be done without making it all private.

Can see both sides of this. I use both NHS and private care as we are covered as a family through DH's work policy.

Most private insurance policies don't cover routine - any treatment I need to have has to start with a NHS GP referral. Then the private sector takes over. Not everything and every procedure is covered by insurance either, it doesn't cover pregnancy, for example. Private hospitals where I live don't have A&E, so if you have a real emergency, you have no choice but to use the NHS.There is no excuse for running 25 minutes behind at 9am though.

Private care IS more efficient - it is very rare to be kept waiting or have appointments cancelled. But that is partly because they are dealing with only non-emergency surgery so your procedure isn't cancelled on the day because there's been a major road traffic accident and they need the theatre space. Private care is also a lot more comfortable - I had three nights in hospital recently with my own room, ensuite bathroom, great food and amenities like TV and free wifi.

Why is everyone so against paying for health insurance and getting a better service or going private?

Have you ever been properly on-the-bones-of-your-arse poor? Because I have. And 'just in case' money can never take priority over keeping DD fed and warm. People in financial difficulties shouldn't have to choose between feeding their kids and maintaining health care premiums. And frankly, I've never come across an insurer who I'd be comfortable giving the authority to decide if my family are allowed treatment.

in my surgery appointments start at 7h30... so yes, if she had difficult cases by 9 there could be a backlog...

If you're so keen on private treatment nothing is stopping you going private now.

Why is everyone so against paying for health insurance and getting a better service or going private?

Because food is a priority. A priority that can I scarcely afford some weeks, despite working two jobs.

What, exactly, would the millions of families like mine, use to pay for this service?

Not everyone has spare cash sitting in savings accounts.

Ditto Tali..... A GP friend of mine recently had clinic 'run late' because a patient died in her practice room during her appointment. But lo and behold, the complainants were out in force that day because 'clinic over ran'. Open your minds, and think about what might actually have caused a delay; an elderly lady who perhaps has no one in her life to talk to who recently found out she has cancer and needs some reassurance from her GP perhaps? Or the new Mum who can't cope with how overwhelmed she feels and just needs to understand what's happening to her? Or perhaps the fifty year old man who's father died of bowel cancer and who has now noticed blood in his own stool and is terrified? Should they be booted out 'because the ten minutes is up', or would you rather have a compassionate, considerate GP who has her patient at the heart of her job? I know which I'd prefer.

NHS Forever

It's deliberate government policy to starve the NHS of money and then claim it has to be privatised because it's broken. Noam Chomsky has written extensively on this process and this government is following exactly the same route as the USA. I can't recommend a link to read because he wrote a series of essays I wish he'd collect into a book but he hasn't.

We should have something like the German state insurance system. Not perfect but it's not something that can be. People have to pay a certain amount, I can't be sure of the costs now but when I was living there I thought it was reasonable. Private insurance is also available but people mostly prefer the state system. Yes, I do believe we need an insurance based system, like the German one not the American one, but it would need to be brought in over at least two generations so as not to penalise those who can't afford it. With free treatment for those below a certain level, and that level set at a point that means treatment is available for all in need.

Are you being deliberately goady by asking Why is everyone so against paying for health insurance and getting a better service or going private?

Is it beyond you to think that its because not everyone can afford it? Why should health be dependant on how much money you have, and why should people be penalised because of conditions they have?

And YY to the fact that you can indeed go private if you want to.
Invest in BUPA or any other insurance, pay the full consultation fee for a private GP. All of which is available now so won't be an issue for you.

Errr maybe also look at the small print, the conditions that aren't covered (such as the one I have, yours might not be covered either...), costs etc....

Or you can fight to save the NHS and stop the underfunding and the stupid policies that are making everything worse rather than better, campaign for our politicians to go have a look at other place where the system works well (France, Singapore come to mind) and see if you can implement it/some of it here. Start by training nurses and doctors so there are actually people in the country who can do these jobs.

Or look at your own situation where you think you can pay thousands every year for a health insurance. And forget about all the others who can't (incl relatives of yours maybe, children, parents etc...)

Luna in France you can get all the things you are mentioning on the national health system. Totally state owned.
What you are experiencing formthe private sector here doesn't happen because it's private. if the politicians wanted to, we could get the same in the state sector,

When I was a junior and poor I worked weekends in private hospitals to make extra money. We had some sick very young children and babies to care for at one famous private London hospital and yet not one member of staff on weekends was permanent, so no one was familiar with the place and its policies. There was no HDU/ITU available so if and when they deteriorated we had to call an NHS ambulance to transport them to a hospital with proper facilities. Put me off being cared for or working in one for life, although I trust they are better now. The private rooms, carpets, room service and no waits did not make up for lack of expertise.

So what about people that can't afford it OP?

A night in intensive care costs about £2k, that's without any treatment. Think yourself lucky.

An improvement for who? Not for me, I'm diabetic so my premiums would be sky high.

Now that's not really fair is it.

The current system is a lot fairer.

If the NHS was privatised I think I would literally lie awake at night worrying about getting ill and not being able to afford treatment. What a horrible position that would be to put people in. Can you imagine your child getting cancer or similar and your insurance not being able to cover all the treatment, what would you do then, sell your house to fund their treatment? It would be horrible.

The NHS needs to be sorted out, that is it. It is already there, it needs the right people and the right solutions to get it back on its feet. It could be amazing with the right funding and leadership.

Yabvu

You pay to go private, leave the NHS for the rest of us.

Also if you go to a private hospital for lets say a routine hernia repair and suddenly there are major complications.. Guess where you will end up? Yes the nhs because its better equipped.

I sew the flaws of the nhs everyday. It needs an overhaul.

Also 51 or 52% of nhs staff are NON CLINICAL they should start there.. The money in the nhs coming out of clinical roles. So for the majority of staff nurses to ever see a 50k pay packet is to go non clinical and take a managerial role, which is a shame because good nurses are coming out because of poor pay, staffing conditions..

YABVVU and naive

I have a very serious allergy that could crop up at any time. I dont like the idea that I'd have to choose between feeding my DD and being around to raise her.

I had to go private to sort out a potentially blinding eye condition that the NHS would have treated eventually but I didn't want to wait.

I had to sell my car for one - yes one - injection of an off-license drug.

That was in addition to the £6k I needed for surgery.

I'm struggling to see how a private healthcare system would fix the issues in your OP?
I had a 9am appointment today with a nurse practitioner. At that time in the morning she was already running 25 mins late on her appointments- how?! - there are any number of reasons she was running late. May have got caught in traffic, may have struggled to get car started, computer may have not been working etc etc. Not fixed by a private system.

She also couldn't use her computer system so I had to then wait for a doctor to come and issue the standard repeat prescription (I couldn't get this over the phone as needed a blood pressure check). The doctor then issued the wrong medication and only corrected it when I noticed she had done the wrong thing on the screen. - Human error. Not fixed by a private healthcare system.

Why is everyone so against paying for health insurance and getting a better service or going private? Many people can't afford it. It's been proven time and again that those who are in lower socio-economic groups require the most healthcare. Our current system means they can access it. A private system would see them suffer more and die earlier through lack of healthcare.

It's not uncommon to hear of people waiting weeks to get an appointment and not being able to book in advance. The government would save an inordinate amount of money that could be ploughed into schools whilst subsidising some health services but with people paying an annual health insurance fee. We already pay for prescriptions in England. I would rather have a better private service than the NHS as it is now- on it's last legs and not really fit for purpose any more. AIBU? - There would be the same amount of doctors providing the service, as it takes years to train new ones. The only difference would be less patients trying to access the system, because they can't afford to. DH and I are in fairly average paying jobs, we'd struggle to afford private healthcare.
The NHS needs a major revamp, but it'll be a sad sad day when/if it disappears completely.

No. No no no.

I would rather have a better private service than the NHS as it is now
Feel free to pay for a private appointment then!